Ty Lawson challenges Nuggets to come ‘ready to play’ vs. Warriors

Lawson says he’s tired of being .500. He wants more winning out of the Nuggets. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

OAKLAND, CALIF – No fancy lead-ins here. Just the words of the Nuggets best player who is growing tired of his team simply being average. The Nuggets face Golden State on Wednesday night at Oracle Arena just one game over .500 at 19-18.

Ty Lawson sees the standings. He knows the nightly scores of the teams ahead of the Nuggets in the Western Conference. He wants into the playoff picture, and he wants in now.

Lawson voice is growing in the locker room. It is growing in interviews. He’s increasingly been more vocal about the team – where it is and where it should be. This is what Lawson had to say about what he wants out the Nuggets after their loss at Utah on Monday. Not a lot, but straight to the point.

“I see that Phoenix lost again, so we would have been one-game behind Dallas and Phoenix,” Lawson said. “So this hurts. We have to win. It’s going to be a big game for us on Wednesday. I hope everyone comes ready to play, because I’m not trying to go back to .500 and trying to build our way back up when we’re right here, right now.”

Follow Chris Dempsey on Twitter @dempseypost or email him at cdempsey@denverpost.com

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.

Nicki Jhabvala is the Sports Digital News Editor for The Denver Post. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor, and she was most recently the overnight home page editor at the New York Times.